The 2012 NHL Winter Classic (known via corporate sponsorship as the
Bridgestone
is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japa ...
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
(NHL) game, part of the Winter Classic series, played on January 2, 2012, at
Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The game, the League's fifth Winter Classic, matched the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...
against the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...
, two Atlantic Division rivals; the Rangers won by a score of 3–2. The original plan was to have the contest at the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
' home,
Lincoln Financial Field
Lincoln Financial Field is an American football stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It serves as the home stadium of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. ...
; however, the Eagles played there the day before, and the NHL needed at least a week of preparation time to build the ice rink onto the field. The game was broadcast by
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
in the United States and by CBC and RDS in Canada. NBC's announcers were
Mike Emrick
Michael "Doc" Emrick (born August 1, 1946) is an American former network television play-by-play sportscaster and commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. He was the lead announcer for National Hockey League national telecasts on bot ...
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...
as the studio host.
The game returned to its original
daytime
Daytime as observed on Earth is the period of the day during which a given location experiences natural illumination from direct sunlight. Daytime occurs when the Sun appears above the local horizon, that is, anywhere on the globe's hemi ...
time slot, with the Rangers-Flyers game beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (two hours behind its originally scheduled start time of 1:00 p.m.). This marked the first time the Winter Classic was not played on
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Whi ...
; to follow the precedent of
bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
s—which do not play on January 1 if it falls on a Sunday out of respect for the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
, and the observed New Year's Day holiday being legally floated to Monday in these scenarios, the game was instead played on January 2.
Game summary
The game was delayed two hours from its originally scheduled start time due to the expectations of warm temperatures and sun glare. The 3:20 p.m. puck drop provided more ideal conditions, with a temperature around 45 °F and overcast skies. Rain fell for a short time during the second period. Ice conditions were mostly excellent with few delays to repair the playing surface, and they compared favorably to last year's game according to
Michael Rupp
Michael Ryan Rupp (born January 13, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins,New ...
, who played for the Penguins in the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. The Rangers entered the game on top of the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with 50 points, with the Flyers trailing the Rangers by two points and having the chance to tie for first place with a win.
The first period was scoreless, with neither team sustaining much offensive pressure. The Flyers had the edge in play, and it was reflected on the scoreboard with their 12–9 lead in shots on goal. Each team was assessed a penalty late in period, resulting in short power plays for both. In the second, shadows were becoming prevalent on the rink as the sun set behind the stadium and the lights took full effect. Despite the ice conditions getting slightly worse, as well, the game became more fast-paced, and the Flyers scored two goals in less than two minutes in the second half of the period. Brayden Schenn's first career goal was scored following an offensive-zone face-off and Claude Giroux scored on an odd-man rush. On the Rangers' first shift following Giroux's goal, Rupp scored his second of the season on a wrist shot. The Flyers again outplayed the Rangers in this period and had a 14 to 8 edge in shots on goal.
The Rangers came out with more energy to start the third, and Rupp tied the game on his first shift of the period, beating
Sergei Bobrovsky
Sergei Andreyevich Bobrovsky (russian: Серге́й Андреевич "Боб" Бобровский; born 20 September 1988) is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has ...
from a bad angle. Less than three minutes later,
Brad Richards
Bradley Glen Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Lightning, New York ...
gave the Rangers a 3–2 lead when he hit an open side of the net following a rebound. The final period had the most end-to-end action of the game and sustained pressure, and it was played evenly by both teams. The Flyers had the only power play of the period, recording one shot. With Bobrovsky pulled from the net for an extra attacker, the Flyers and Rangers were assessed matching minors, so the Flyers had more room to skate with a five to four skater advantage rather than six to five. As they sustained more pressure and the puck was sliding through the crease, Rangers defenseman
Ryan McDonagh
Ryan Patrick McDonagh (born June 13, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in 2007, he played ...
slid in an attempt to block the net but was called for covering the puck in the crease.
Daniel Briere
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength ...
was chosen to take the ensuing penalty shot, which was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist with 19.6 seconds remaining, sealing the win for the Rangers. With the loss the Flyers became the first team to lose in two Winter Classics. Prior to this game, the Flyers had a record of 18–0–1 when leading after two periods. The win moved the Rangers into first overall in the league standings.
:''Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season''
Team rosters
: Martin Biron and Ilya Bryzgalov dressed as the back-up goaltenders. Neither entered the game.
Zac Rinaldo
Zachary Rinaldo (born June 15, 1990) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey left winger. His career ended in 2021 when he admitted he was scared of needles. He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia F ...
Referees
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
Dennis LaRue
Dennis LaRue (born July 14, 1959, in Savannah, Georgia) has been a National Hockey League referee since the 1990–91 NHL season, and has worn the uniform number 14 since the 1994–95 NHL season.http://www.nhlofficials.com/member_listing.asp?mem ...
*
Linesmen
In association football, an assistant referee (previously known as a linesman or lineswoman) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the L ...
Pierre Racicot Pierre Racicot (born February 15, 1967 in Verdun, Quebec, now part of Montreal, Quebec) is a retired National Hockey League linesman. As an official, he wore uniform number 65.
Racicot officiated his first NHL game on October 12, 1993, between th ...
Broadcasting
The game was telecasted on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
in the United States, CBC (English) and RDS (Français) in Canada. Local radio broadcasts were provided by WIP/
WIP-FM
WIP-FM (94.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a sports radio format. The WIP-FM offices and studios are co-located within Audacy's corporate hea ...
Sirius XM Radio
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
carried the game on satellite radio.
Documentary
HBO aired a four-part documentary chronicling the preparation of the two teams for the game as part of its award-winning sports series '' 24/7''. The first episode aired on Wednesday, December 14, 2011, at 10 p.m. ET, with three additional episodes following each subsequent Wednesday. The series chronicled each team's seasons leading up to the Winter Classic, and emphasized the physical nature and intensity of the Rangers–Flyers rivalry. The episodes focused notably on the fiery coaching approaches of
John Tortorella
John Francis Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He currently serves as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella was previously the head ...
and
Peter Laviolette
Peter Philip Laviolette Jr. (born December 7, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach, and former player, currently serving as head coach for the Washington Capitals. He was previously the head coach of the New York Islanders, Caroli ...
, the odd and comical personality of
Ilya Bryzgalov
Ilya Nikolayevich Bryzgalov (; russian: Илья Николаевич Брызгалов; born 22 June 1980) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coy ...
, and the ups and downs that each team underwent before the Winter Classic.
Ratings
The 2012 Winter Classic had relatively low ratings compared to the previous four events. The game earned a 2.4 rating and 3.74 million viewers; it is the first Winter Classic to fall short of the benchmark set by
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
's final game in 1999 (2.5 rating/6 share) that had stood as the most-watched post-1975 NHL regular season game prior to the Winter Classic. In Philadelphia, the game had a rating of 11.9. The other highest rated markets were Buffalo (7.8), Boston (5.1), and Pittsburgh (4.4). New York's home market finished with a 4.3 rating, the first time that the host markets did not finish both first and second in the individual market ratings. Some critics' reasons as to why the ratings were low were due to the fact that the game was moved back two hours from 1pm EST to 3pm EST; the game was played a day later than normally (January 2 opposed to January 1) because of the NFL last regular season games; it was played during the daytime on a day not universally recognized as a holiday (thus more people would have been at work and missed the game); the fact it had to compete with two college bowl games (Outback Bowl and Rose Bowl, although previous Winter Classics also had to compete with bowl games); and overexposure of the New York-Philly matchup.
Alumni game
An alumni game between former Flyers and Rangers players was played on December 31. The game was broadcast live by Versus, CBC Television, and
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
NBC Sports Philadelphia is an American regional sports network owned by the NBC Sports Group unit of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by locally based cable television provider Comcast (and owns a controlling 75% interest), and the Philadelp ...
, with a tape-delay broadcast on
MSG Network
The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...
. The start time was rescheduled to 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time from the original start time of 1:00 PM, due to weather concerns, but garnered a near sellout crowd nonetheless.
Two storylines built headlines in anticipation of alumni game. One was
Bernie Parent
Bernard Marcel Parent (born April 3, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 13 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and also spent one seaso ...
participating in the game at the age of 66. Parent decided to participate despite his age due to requests by fans. The return of
Eric Lindros
Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals p ...
also grabbed headlines. Lindros was a very popular and successful player for the Flyers, but left the franchise amidst controversy and bad blood. The Flyers players all wore a small number "10" on top of their shoulders in memory of former Flyers defenseman
Brad McCrimmon
Byron Brad McCrimmon (March 29, 1959 – September 7, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played over 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, ...
, who died in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash earlier in the year.
The game began with a ceremonial faceoff between Flyer captain Bob Clarke and Ranger captain Mark Messier, dropped by Flyers chairman
Ed Snider
Edward Malcolm Snider (January 6, 1933 – April 11, 2016) was an American business executive. He was the chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company that owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Ho ...
, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder, and a recent inductee in the
United States Hockey Hall of Fame
The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...
. The game started with a total of seven members of the Hockey Hall of Fame on the ice: Clarke, Parent, Messier, Bill Barber,
Mark Howe
Mark Steven Howe (born 28 May 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) following six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He is curr ...
,
Mike Gartner
Michael Alfred Gartner (born October 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leaf ...
and
Brian Leetch
Brian Joseph Leetch (born March 3, 1968) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 18 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins. He has been called one of the to ...
.
Glenn Anderson
Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Ander ...
, another Hall of Fame Member, also participated in the game. Parent started the game and earned ovations by several saves, most notably one on a breakaway by
Ron Duguay
Ronald Duguay (born July 6, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1977 through 1989, and served four seasons as a minor league coach. He appeared as an ...
, but was replaced with Mark LaForest by his request five minutes into the game. Early in the game,
Jeremy Roenick
Jeremy Shaffer Roenick
( ; born January 17, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 8th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by the Chica ...
committed a rare alumni game hit on Darren Turcotte.
The first goal of the game was scored by John LeClair on a pass by Eric Lindros, showing shades of the
Legion of Doom
The Legion of Doom is a group of supervillains who originated in '' Challenge of the Super Friends'', an animated series from Hanna-Barbera based on DC Comics' Justice League. The Legion of Doom has since been incorporated into the main DC Univer ...
. Mikael Renberg, the third member of the Legion, was invited to the game but was unable to participate due to prior commitments. Instead, Lindros and LeClair were joined by
Mark Recchi
Mark Louis Recchi (; born February 1, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former assistant coach. Recchi played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, ...
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
at the age of 43. Recchi played with Lindros early in Lindros' career, forming the Crazy 8s line with
Brent Fedyk
Brent Anthony Fedyk (born March 8, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He was drafted in the first round, 8th overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft.
Born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Fedyk pla ...
before being traded for LeClair and Eric Desjardins, who also participated in the game. Shortly after Lindros scored, Shjon Podein cleaned up a rebound to put the Flyers up 2–0. The first penalty was committed by Eric Lindros, resulting in a penalty shot (as did all penalties in the game) for
Nick Kypreos
Nikos "Nick" Kypreos (born June 4, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Lea ...
. Kypreos' attempt was however stopped by LaForest.
Rangers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck was replaced by
Dan Blackburn
Daniel Clark Blackburn (born May 20, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 63 regular-season games for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), going 20–32–11 with 1 shutout.
Minor league ca ...
to start the second period. Blackburn would keep the net clean for the entire period, also stopping a penalty shot by Podein after Podein was slashed by Nick Fotiu. Flyers goalie LaForest was replaced by Neil Little halfway through the game without surrendering a goal. Little gave up a goal to a deflection by
Glenn Anderson
Glenn Chris Anderson (born October 2, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Ander ...
late in the 2nd period, cutting the Flyers lead to 2–1. The goal was originally credited to Brian Leetch before being changed. After the first five minutes in the third period, recent Hall of Fame inductee
Mark Howe
Mark Steven Howe (born 28 May 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) following six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He is curr ...
extended the lead to 3-1 by converting a penalty shot against Blackburn. Neil Little stopped another penalty shot by Glenn Anderson after Anderson was slashed by Bob Clarke. With both goaltenders shutting the door for the rest of the game, the game ended in a 3–1 Flyers win. Following the game, the two teams took part in a traditional handshake line. Afterwards, team photographs were taken, one of each team individually, and one with both teams together.
The game was officiated by retired NHL referee Kerry Fraser and his son, current AHL referee Ryan Fraser. Former NHL referee Harry Dumas, who is also Kerry Fraser's son-in-law, with retired NHL linesmen Kevin Collins, who is currently and NHL Supervisor of Officials, served as linesmen for the game. Bernie Parent had a special mask painted for the occasion to be auctioned off for charity, but in the game wore the familiar plain white shell mask with two Flyer logos that was his trademark during most of his playing career. The alumni teams were coached by Pat Quinn (Flyers) and
Mike Keenan
Michael Edward Keenan (born October 21, 1949) is a Canadian professional hockey coach who most recently coached the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL team ...
(Rangers) who had also faced each other in the
1994 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1994 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers a ...
won by Keenan's Rangers over Quinn's
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
in seven games (Collins was one of the linesmen in the game the Rangers clinched the Stanley Cup title). Both had also previously coached the Flyers to three appearances in Stanley Cup finals in (Quinn), , and (both Keenan).
New York Rangers
Coaches:
Mike Keenan
Michael Edward Keenan (born October 21, 1949) is a Canadian professional hockey coach who most recently coached the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL team ...
,
Emile Francis
Emile Percival Francis (September 13, 1926 – February 19, 2022), nicknamed "The Cat", was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers f ...
,
Colin Campbell Colin may refer to:
* Colin (given name)
* Colin (surname)
* ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie
* Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse
* Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...
Rod Gilbert
Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert (July 1, 1941 — August 19, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played his entire career for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as "Mr. Ranger", he played right wing o ...
Terry Crisp
Terrance Arthur Crisp (born May 28, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and player. Crisp played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers be ...
and
Keith Primeau
Keith David Primeau (born November 24, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers.
...
.
Ambassadors:
Gary Dornhoefer
Gerhardt Otto Dornhoefer (born February 2, 1943), better known as Gary Dornhoefer, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. ...
,
Ron Hextall
Ronald Jeffrey Hextall (born May 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and executive. He is the current general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hextall played 13 seasons for ...
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) played an outdoor game at Citizens Bank Park on January 6 featuring the
Adirondack Phantoms
The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and ...
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...
. The game, which drew an all time AHL record crowd of 45,653, was won by the Phantoms, 4–3, in overtime.
On December 30, 2011, the Philadelphia Police Department Ice Hockey Club hosted the Boston Police Emerald Society in a rematch from their January 6, 2010, game at
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
Division III
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
) and Penn State met during the Icers' final year as an ACHA D1 program, prior to moving to the NCAA. Neumann won 6–3 in front of a crowd of 6,800. A second game was held on Thursday, January 5 between ACHA Division I rivals, Drexel University and
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...
. Drexel won the game 7–3.
Anthems/Entertainment
The anthems were performed by
Melanie Fiona
Melanie Fiona Hallim (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.Patti LaBelle (The Star-Spangled Banner)
During the first intermission the Flyers' anthem singer
Lauren Hart
Lauren Hart (born January 10, 1967) is an American singer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best known for singing the The Star-Spangled Banner, American and O Canada, Canadian national anthems prior to Philadelphia Flyers games, the tea ...
performed
God Bless America
"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature son ...
(and also at the Alumni Game)
During intermission, Philadelphia-based hip-hop band The Roots performed "The Fire", but replaced the word "Flyers" instead of "Fire" just for the occasion of supporting the team during the game.
See also
*
2011–12 New York Rangers season
The 2011–12 New York Rangers season was the National Hockey League franchise's 85th season of play and their 86th season overall. The Rangers finished the regular season in first place in the Eastern Conference, winning the Atlantic Divisio ...
*
2011–12 Philadelphia Flyers season
The 2011–12 Philadelphia Flyers season was the team's 45th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers lost in the second round of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs to their crosstown rivals, the New Jersey Devils, in five games.
I ...
*
AHL Outdoor Classic
Teams in the American Hockey League first hosted games outdoors in 2010. Paralleling the National Hockey League's Winter Classic and Heritage Classic, these outdoor games frequently pit two regional rivals in a game in an outdoor venue. Inasmu ...
*
List of outdoor ice hockey games
Playing hockey games outdoors—in soccer, football and baseball stadiums—is an increasingly popular trend for junior ice hockey, junior, college, professional and international competitions in the 21st century. The popularity of outdoor ga ...
Game Boxscore
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NHL Winter Classic
Winter Classic
The NHL Winter Classic (french: La Classique hivernale de la LNH) is an annual regular season outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on or around New Year's Day, generally in a football or baseball stadium in an area ...